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Frazer Falls 2018 Oct

Frazer Falls 2018 Oct

I had always wanted to return one day to visit the base of Frazer Falls, having climbed already to the top, and now, this weekend, my chance came, as Carrie and I planned to be over in the western half of the state bagging something or other. I chose Frazer Falls as that something. The day before, I had had a big waterfall bagging spree before seeing Carrie for lunch at Guide Falls (see the blog titled Upper Preston” URL below), and then the two of us had been to the base of Stitt, a huge fun adventure, before setting up our tents at lake Rosebery, ready for the onslaught of Frazer Falls on the Sunday.

It is quite a long walk in, along a wide, flat path with lush greenery to the sides, and enormous drops to the right, and massive, almost cliffs to the left, so we strode happily along, not even stopping at Montezuma as we passed it by – although we couldn’t help noticing it was flowing very nicely today thanks very much. We’d pop in on our way back. Tessie found the swing bridge very challenging. I was walking behind her, and I could see she was shaking all over with terror. She’s too heavy to carry. I feared this was it, but no. We changed positions so that I was in front, and this brave little girl followed behind me. Carrie waited until she was across so as not to swing the bridge more than was necessary, and soon enough we were a trio on the other side. Other dog owners could not even carry their dogs across, as they whimpered too much, they told us later. It is a truly whopping drop for anyone with depth perception.

My memory said it was a bit over twenty minutes to our turn off up the spur beyond Frazer Creek, so there was still some more striding to do, which was a bit unfortunate, as I had wet socks from the day before, and striding was giving me a bit of a blister. Things would greatly improve once we started climbing.

The climb is a very in-your-face affair, with all four limbs being necessary to haul yourself up the slope. The forest, however, is quite open, the scenery beautiful, and, well, I love a good climb, and this was no exception. The part I didn’t like was where felling has been done that lets the light in, and there, scrub has grown up and the pad is very indistinct. There are two short sections of this ilk, but they’re pretty quickly dispensed with if you keep your line. We finished the climb in thirty minutes flat (having taken fifty four minutes to Montezuma, and twenty three to the start of the climb where we left the track).

Now, this next bit was, for me, the challenging part, as I had been here once before, and not found a pad down. But then, I had been in a hurry. I have made several attempts since to find out if one crosses over Frazer Creek in order to descend, but nobody would tell me. I asked, do we descend west or east of the creek, and no one would answer me. So, I tell YOU, lucky people, you do not cross the creek. Look for a pad on that western side of the creek. There is a stake, and when I was there before, I found nothing more. This time, more stakes have been put out, and if you climb under a log, you see the next one, and after that, everything is very clear … and very, very steep. Carrie thought it was the scariest of all our descents so far, and we’ve done a few pretty hairy ones. Tessie thought it was OK, having struggled more when ropes are necessary to get up sheer rock. The drop was monstrous, but it only took us nine minutes both down and up to do this section.

And, what joy lay in store for us at the base. We had  no other plans for this day, so took our time photographing from this or that position, while Tessa stood guard over us, perched like a sentinel on a rock. She knows not to interfere with photography. I am a bit insulted that she always seems to guard Carrie more than she does me. Such is life.

On the way back, we stopped off at Montezuma Falls for lunch. The first time I visited these falls, I got my lens splattered in droplets and threw every photo out. The second time, it was a silly trickle. This time, I was happy. And then it was time to finish off the walk, pour some caffein down my gullet, and begin the long drive home. I struggled, so had Les Miserables up at almost full volume, and sang full blast to try to conquer sleep once I had dropped Carrie off at Ridgley . Got there
For Saturday’s walks, see http://www.natureloverswalks.com/upper-preston-falls/. For the cyan line of our route, see my first blog on Frazer Falls:
 http://www.natureloverswalks.com/frazer-falls/

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Rawlinson Falls 2018 Mar

Rawlinson Falls. Mar 2018


Rawlinson Falls
I was very curious to see what happened to the contoured track after Montezuma Falls as it wended its way west towards, inter alia, Rawlinson Falls. The (beautiful) path is now part of an eighteen-kilometre MTB track, which is a great initiative. This track is also open to 4WDs and quad bikes, with all their noise and petrol fumes. I was pretty worried about being splattered with mud most of the time; however, no one got me. That said, I always felt the onus was on ME to get out of their road, and that they wouldn’t slow down much to give me an opportunity of finding a good spot to get off their turf. I saw four quads and about eight or more 4WDs on my journey. The sound carries, so it seemed like more. I must admit, on the positive side, that all bar one of them thanked me for moving out of their road. I like courtesy.


It took thirty eight minutes from Montezuma to Rawlinson (I wasn’t mucking around), and then the fun began. I thought these ones would be a breeze – hey, they’re just beside the track. No breeze was blowing that day! I followed the creek the short distance from the bridge and … whoah, that’s a huge drop!! How am I to get down there? I knew it was humanly possible, so I opted to go back quite a bit, and angle in (not clear from the map below) to cut the gradient. Do not try this if you are not experienced. It really was very steep. I was travelling solo, and no one knew where I was, so I was a little anxious. For every single step I took, I made sure one arm was around a nice healthy young tree that would not break. I trusted nothing dodgy. Not only can you harm yourself greatly if you don’t know how to handle slopes like this, but you could also cause a landslide that would harm the environment for everyone else. If you photograph from the top, you have still bagged the falls.

I was rewarded for my efforts by the sights in these shots. I took one (not here) from half way down, perched above a sapling, as I never actually believed I’d get to the bottom, so was feeling quite jubilant to reach flat land below. Having not slid at any time, I knew I could easily get up my downward route.

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Montezuma Falls 2018 Mar

Montezuma Falls Mar 2018.


Water tumbles quietly over the base of the falls
I feel rather ashamed to write that last weekend was only the second time I have ever visited the renowned Montezuma Falls. This is especially shameful if one considers how very beautiful the area in which they are situated is. And it is perhaps even more so if I add that I only actually visited them as I was on my way to other, more distant waterfalls; they just happened to be the first ones I came to directly on the track.

On  my first visit, they were pumping so wildly it was impossible to keep the spray off one’s lens, and I threw my picture out. This time, the problem was kind of the opposite, in that they were flowing so demurely that I could sit on top of them and not really get wet. As a result, the photos included here are more “details” of the lower outlet of the falls. You could certainly get up close and cuddly this weekend. Meanwhile, however, if you’re not obsessed with seeing massive and unphotogenic gushes of water down your falls, the delicacy of the offering was, for me, quite appealing, and I absolutely adored the lush green forest en route.

And why on earth did I visit these falls on a hot day in March when the water was bound to be undramatic and the forests bereft of fungi and mist? Because, essentially, this trip was a recce to check out Rawlinson, Frazer and Svengali Falls. I would be driving down from Launceston, and then covering about 22 kms over rough ground on foot, some of which would be bushbashing. I wanted to be able to move quickly (not too much mud) and to walk in river beds should I need to, just to suss things out and get a rough time-frame for the expedition. I now know, for example, that it takes about 55 mins to reach Montezuma, another 38 to reach Rawlinson, and 30 mins to climb up to Frazer. Such items of knowledge are handy when planning future trips. I also learned that bringing just one ETC salad roll and florentine plus OJ is not enough to keep me in food for such an expedition. As usual, I was hungry most of the day, and was stealing lunch by 10 a.m.. I got very low on blood sugar by the end.


Loved the cows early on in my trip to the falls, shortly after leaving Launceston.
For reports on the other falls, see www.natureloverswalks.com/rawlinson-falls/ and www.natureloverswalks.com/frazer-falls/. I was too tired and hungry to do any more than a brief exploratory journey in the direction of Svengali. They’re for another time.


The tiny “settlement” in the top right corner is Williamstown, where you park. The road to it begins 2kms south of Rosebery, and is 6kms long. The Falls are marked on the sign that says Williamstown.